WITH A COPY OF AUCASSIN AND NICOLETE by James Russell Lowell: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
Lowell shares a copy of the medieval French romance *Aucassin and Nicolete* with a friend, and this sonnet serves as the accompanying note.
The poem
Leaves fit to have been poor Juliet's cradle-rhyme, With gladness of a heart long quenched in mould They vibrate still, a nest not yet grown cold From its fledged burthen. The numb hand of Time Vainly his glass turns; here is endless prime; Here lips their roses keep and locks their gold; Here Love in pristine innocency bold Speaks what our grosser conscience makes a crime. Because it tells the dream that all have known Once in their lives, and to life's end the few; Because its seeds o'er Memory's desert blown Spring up in heartsease such as Eden knew; Because it hath a beauty all its own, Dear Friend, I plucked this herb of grace for you.
Lowell shares a copy of the medieval French romance *Aucassin and Nicolete* with a friend, and this sonnet serves as the accompanying note. He believes the timeless tale endures because it expresses the pure, innocent emotion of first love that nearly everyone feels at least once. The poem acts as a love letter to a love story — a heartfelt gift of something beautiful for someone special.
Line-by-line
Leaves fit to have been poor Juliet's cradle-rhyme, / With gladness of a heart long quenched in mould
Here lips their roses keep and locks their gold; / Here Love in pristine innocency bold
Because it tells the dream that all have known / Once in their lives, and to life's end the few;
Because it hath a beauty all its own, / Dear Friend, I plucked this herb of grace for you.
Tone & mood
Warm and quietly passionate, Lowell writes with the confidence of someone who has cherished this old story for years and is eager to share it with a friend. There's a gentle defiance woven into the poem—a readiness to challenge prudish moral judgment—but it never becomes aggressive. By the final couplet, the tone shifts to something resembling tenderness.
Symbols & metaphors
- The nest not yet grown cold — The medieval book is likened to a bird's nest that retains warmth even after the birds have flown away. It symbolizes art that endures beyond its creator, offering solace long after the heart that brought it to life has ceased to beat.
- The numb hand of Time / his glass — Time is depicted as a figure turning an hourglass, a classic symbol of mortality and decay. Referring to the hand as "numb" implies that Time operates mechanically, lacking emotion — and importantly, in this case, it falls short. The romance triumphs over it.
- Seeds blown over Memory's desert — Memory is portrayed as a vast, barren wasteland. The images in the story act as seeds that float across it, suddenly blooming into "heartsease" — a real flower and a sense of emotional relief. This illustrates how an old book can unexpectedly bring back emotions or memories you thought were lost.
- Herb of grace — Rue is a bitter herb that, in Renaissance tradition, symbolizes repentance, blessing, and remembrance. By referring to the book as an herb of grace, Lowell presents the gift as both medicinal and sacred—capable of healing while also honoring the past.
- Eden — Eden symbolizes a time of innocence before guilt and shame became part of human experience. Lowell uses this idea to suggest that the romance's love is pre-lapsarian — it exists in a world where desire and joy weren't yet viewed as wrong.
Historical context
*Aucassin and Nicolete* is a 13th-century French chantefable—a narrative that blends prose and verse—centering on two young lovers separated by social class and family ties. Rediscovered and translated into English during the 19th century, it became a favorite among Romantic and Victorian readers who appreciated its youthful spirit and lightness. Lowell, a prominent American literary figure of his time, penned this sonnet as a dedication to accompany a gifted copy of the romance. He was well-versed in medieval and Renaissance literature and often advocated for older works he believed had been unjustly overlooked. This sonnet belongs to a long-standing tradition of "book-gift" poems, where the act of sharing a cherished text becomes a poetic theme. Lowell's line about the lovers' speech being what "our grosser conscience makes a crime" captures the Victorian unease surrounding open expressions of desire in literature.
FAQ
*Aucassin and Nicolete* is a medieval French romance that tells the tale of two young lovers kept apart by their social differences. In this sonnet, Lowell argues that this timeless story still holds value today—he celebrates its lasting impact, emotional depth, and innocent audacity. The poem truly resonates when you understand it's a gift he's presenting to a friend.
"Herb of grace" refers to rue, a plant with a bitter smell that held significant meaning in Renaissance England, symbolizing repentance, remembrance, and blessing. Shakespeare mentions it in *Hamlet* and *Richard II*. Lowell adopts the phrase to convey that giving a book is a sacred and tender act, akin to offering something that has healing properties.
He suggests that the romance portrays desire and love in a way that would appear improper or even indecent by Victorian moral standards. Lowell is standing up for the book against such prudishness, claiming that the love in *Aucassin and Nicolete* is innocent because it comes from a time before later generations added guilt to human emotions.
It uses the Petrarchan (Italian) structure, which consists of an octave (eight lines) that presents a problem or situation, followed by a sestet (six lines) that addresses or resolves it. The rhyme scheme is ABBA ABBA for the octave and CDC DCD for the sestet. The turn occurs at "Because it tells the dream," where Lowell transitions from describing the book to discussing why it makes a great gift.
Lowell doesn't specify the friend in the poem, and scholars haven't identified a single recipient. The dedication serves both as a literary gesture and a personal one—the unnamed friend represents any reader who cherishes old books and the genuine emotions they hold.
"Prime" refers to the springtime of life — youth, freshness, and the pinnacle of beauty and emotion. "Endless prime" signifies a romance that never grows old; within its pages, the lovers remain eternally young, always experiencing the peak of their love. Time has no effect on them.
He's reaching for the most tender, innocent image he can find—a lullaby sung to a baby. By describing the pages of *Aucassin and Nicolete* as worthy of being Juliet's cradle-song, he situates this romance at the very heart of romantic feeling, something so gentle and pure that it could have influenced the most famous lover in literature from the very beginning.
Lowell envisions personal memory as a vast, arid, largely desolate landscape. Much of what we encounter withers away and fades from our minds. However, the seeds of this romance, carried across that barren expanse, find a way to take root and flourish into "heartsease" — a flower and a true sense of peace and comfort. This reflects his belief that the story rekindles feelings you thought were gone for good.